October 24, 2025
Dear FFEN Friends,
At FFEN, we’ve been seeing the build up of challenges in the Minnesota food shelf system. As you’ve heard, in 2024, food shelves responded to nearly 9 million visits – a record number and 2.5 times food shelf visits in 2019.
In February and March of this year, we heard from 318 food shelf managers through the 2025 Minnesota Food Shelf Survey – reporting increased demand as their top challenge. They affirmed what we had been hearing in consultations, that resources were not keeping up, creating inconsistencies in food availability for their communities.
Across conversations with over 130 food shelf sites in September and October, we have heard the continued drum-beat of food shelves trying to do more with less. They’re working to meet the needs as more people than ever come through their doors and the challenge is compounded with higher food costs and more challenging food sourcing.
Now, due to the federal government shutdown, nearly 440,000 Minnesotans were notified this week that their SNAP benefits are at risk for November. That’s roughly $70 million dollars to help put food on people’s tables no longer available to families with children, seniors on a fixed income, and individuals with disabilities – Our neighbors. This has not occurred during any previous shutdown.
As a reminder:
- For every 1 meal provided by food shelves, SNAP provides 9.
- Every $1.00 in federally-funded SNAP benefits generates $1.80 in economic activity for our local communities.
Food shelves – as always – are caring, creative and resilient, supporting their communities. AND food shelves will not be able to make up this gap. This disparity will impact areas of Minnesota in highly variable ways, based on the resources of the community and/or the funds available to the local food shelf.
What FFEN is doing:
- Expanded Technical Assistance for Food Shelves: We have expanded availability to our live, tailored Resource Hub calls, available now 5 days a week beginning next week, for food shelf leaders to talk through potential program changes, receive advice, and discuss how to best implement change to ensure they can keep serving. These sessions will continue through November.
- Staying in Communication with Statewide Partners: We are in regular communication with other statewide sector partners to stay informed and abreast of developments and respond to the urgent and changing needs of food shelves.
- Developing Responsive Resource Documents: Based on urgent needs, and food shelf requests, we are moving quickly to create additional resource tools that food shelf leaders can access as needed.
What you can do:
- Support your Local Food Shelf: Monetary donations provide the most flexibility for food shelves to best respond to their unique local situation. Find your local food shelf here.
- Support FFEN: Food shelf leaders are creative and FFEN is a trusted partner in developing relevant solutions and guiding program adjustments. Food shelf leaders often work in isolation and connections with FFEN can be critical during times like these, especially for the 65% of food shelves that are volunteer run and led or minimally staffed. Donate to FFEN.
- Take Action: There is funding available that can be released to support November SNAP benefits. Find out more with this Action Alert from The Food Group.
In Support,
Kate M. Burggraff
Executive Director
Foundation for Essential Needs
